Says restricting access to guns will slow violence

Escalating gun violence in the United States indicates that gun control needs to be addressed and discussed more thoroughly. The prevalence of school shootings in the United States is far and above that of other countries around the globe. A contributing factor may be our country’s depictions of violence in video games and movies. However, I believe the availability of guns and ease of access is the real perpetrator in these crimes. Changing our culture’s usage of violence is a much harder feat to accomplish than simply controlling the availability of handguns and assault rifles via stringent background and mental health checks.

Handguns and assault rifles have no place in hunting and are designed to kill human beings. Although the Second Amendment affords us the right to bear arms, I believe legislation to make it harder to obtain guns designed with the purpose of killing is in order. Illegal gun markets will always be present in our society but an effort to reduce the availability of guns will surely put a dent in gun supply. Reduced availability will make it much harder the next time a young high school student seeks to walk in to their school, armed to the teeth, and start shooting.